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The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA MTA) still has five months before contracts with the Amalgamated Transit Union and United Transportation Union expire, but the parties already are talking about beginning negotiations in hopes of reaching an agreement before the current contract expires in June.

Agency and union negotiators have agreed to take a different approach to this round of negotiations. Next month, officials from each side will take a training course in interest-based negotiations, which aim to focus on each party’s interests and goals rather than each’s entrenched positions. The method helps make negotiations more productive, according to LA MTA.